Aperio, Pathology Data merge digital pathology technologies

Aperio Technologies, a provider of digital pathology, has partnered with Pathology Data Systems, a provider of preclinical toxicology, pathology and repro/teratology software, to develop an interface between Aperio's Spectrum digital pathology information management system and PathData, PDS' pathology software system.

The interface, which the companies expect to be complete in the summer of 2009, is designed for laboratory workflow by providing access to color whole-slide images at sub-micron resolution from within the PathData system. The Vista, Calif.-based Aperio said its digital format ensures that laboratories have access to pathology images wherever and whenever they need it.

Interfacing with PathData addresses the demands of pharmaceutical and CRO customers, regarding the integration of Aperio’s Spectrum PACS software with LIMS, according to Dirk Soenksen, CEO of Aperio. “Digital pathology provides an image-based environment for managing and interpreting information generated from a digitized glass slide,” he added. 

Around the web

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses some of the biggest obstacles facing the specialty in the new year. 

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.